Driver loses ear, suffers severe facial injuries in roll-over crash on I-94
Sisters involved in wild I-94 rollover say it was caused by broken axle
Initially, MSP reported that the driver fell asleep behind the wheel. However, she and her sister, who was also inside the car, told FOX 2 on Friday that the SUV's axel broke – causing the rollover. The driver suffered severe injuries to her face.
MACOMB COUNTY, Mich. (FOX 2) - Two sisters survived a wild roll-over crash two weeks ago, and are now sharing what they believe actually caused the chaos – after police said the driver fell asleep behind the wheel.
The crash took place on westbound I-94 near Nine Mile in Eastpointe, on Friday, May 24. Teylar Scott was picking up her older sister, Terriayn Samuel, after a late night/early morning shift.
While traveling the route they always do around 6:30 a.m., Samuel, who was the passenger, said the axle on the car broke. That caused the SUV to veer off the road, up the embankment, and roll back onto the highway.
The vehicle "just starts rolling over, and after that, everything was pretty much a blur," said Scott, the driver.
She lost an ear, some teeth, and broke her jaw –along with other facial bones– during the crash. Scott's face was left disfigured, which is why she did not want to appear on camera during her interview with FOX 2.
The airbags never went off, according to the sisters.
The incident was captured by the dashcam of a vehicle that the SUV rolled over in front of.
Scott was partially launched out her window. When the SUV rolled over, it smashed her face into the road, and left her dangling from the side of the vehicle.
"She's pretty much knocked out, she's breathing hard, she's bleeding out of her face, on the sides and everything," said Samuel. "And I noticed her ear was gone."
Scott had to undergo an 11-hour skin graft surgery for her severely injured face. She just started speaking again two days ago and will spend another two weeks in the hospital.
"To be honest, I'm not used to this at all. I'm used to looking in the mirror and seeing something that I like," she said. "They pulled skin from my back and covered my face. So I'm one-eared right now, but at some point I believe I'll have two again; I'm hoping."
Teylar Scott
Samuel suffered a bulging disc.
Initially, when the crash took place, FOX 2 reported, per Michigan State Police, that Scott fell asleep. However, the sisters say that did not happen.
"I want to clear up that my sister didn't fall asleep. That she is a great driver –that's number one– and the axle on the car broke," Samuel said. "I'm trying to spend every day with her, trying to recover. We're best friends, other than sisters. Right now, this is our new normal, we're figuring it out together just like everything else."
A GoFundMe was created by Samuel to help Scott pay for her medical bills after the crash, as she has a long road to recovery ahead of her. The fundraiser can be found here.